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Don’t do this, Liana. Don’t do that, Liana. That’s improper, Liana. Act like a queen, Liana.
Maddening.
With the plush robe staving off the chill wafting in from the tall window, I strode from the bathing room—and ran straight into Alaric’s chest.
He caught me, “Whoa, there, what’s the rush?”
I didn’t step away, instead twisting in his arms to see his face. His breath caught, and his jaw clenched. I was still dripping wet, covered in nothing but the soft robe. Everywhere his hands touched me tingled.
I tilted my face up and his body tensed around me.
His grey eyes locked onto mine, and I noticed a ring of dark blue around his iris’, and streaks of near-white and specks of black. His dark hair fell forward as he leaned in, chest rising to meet mine as he took a deep, steadying breath.
“Liana, I—,” he started, trying to detangle himself from me, but I clutched him tighter, trying not to think about the consequences of what I was about to do.
“Stop thinking,” I told him, watching as a war raged beneath the surface of his skin. I placed a hand on his bare shoulder, “Feel. Don’t think.”
He shuddered at my touch and a flash of carnal desire raced through me. I moaned, eyes closing and body melting at the feel of the raw emotion. My heart was a riot of thunder in my chest—a tempest that wouldn’t calm.
A ferocious growl tore from his chest, and my eyes flew open. His warm hand wrapped around the soft flesh at the nape of my neck, tangling in my still-damp hair. He pulled gently, and it was enough to make my legs buckle.
His lips collided with mine as though there wasn’t a second to waste. His kiss deepened, and he pressed his body against mine. I moaned again at the feel of his bulge pressing against me. The heat spread between us, enveloping me, expanding, contracting—settling into a blaze deep at my core. His tongue flicked against mine and a tremor scrambled down my spine.
“I knew it!” A shrill voice broke me out of the trance, and Alaric spun on his heel, hand on the hilt of his sword.
Thana stood across the room, seeming to have let herself in without the courtesy of knocking. Her hands gripped her hips, and the look she gave me could burn a hundred forests to the ground. “Thana!” I shouted, “What are you doing in here?”
She rolled her eyes, and instead of answering, she extended a hand, her fingers pulling at the air in the room.
“Thana don’t—”
But it was too late, my air Graced handmaiden had already blown Alaric from the room. I watched him crash to the ground on the other side of the door before she used her Grace to slam that on his groaning form.
“What did you do that for?” I demanded.
“For your own good!”
Alaric came through the door, glaring at Thana, his eyes filling with malice.
“Andyou,” she chastised, pointing a long finger at him, “You should know better.”
I shook my head, falling into the chair beside my dressing table. “Thana calm down,” I said.
Thana came to stand at my side, and I had to resist the urge to strangle her, “You may go. I will stay with the queen tonight.”
He stiffened, clearing his throat, “It isn’t safe. I’ll stay.”
Alaric searched my face, looking for something there, but I wasn’t sure what. “It’s alright Alaric,” I told him, turning to face the mirror, “I’ll be fine with Thana until morning.”
Turning on his heel, he stormed from my bedchamber. I flinched when I heard the main door slam behind him.
Chapter Fourteen
That night, I was restless—falling asleep only to awaken again and again. I stepped from the comfort of my bed, cringing when my bare feet met the night-chilled tile. Thana was asleep in the armchair at the corner of the room.Some bodyguard.
I had planned to get a glass of water but found myself at the main door instead. I opened it in infinitesimal increments, afraid to wake Thana. She slept like the dead most times, but on edge as she was, I wouldn’t risk it.
The palace was silent, not even the mice had come out of their holes in the walls. I crept on light feet through the corridors and down the spiral staircase into the ballroom. My heart thudded behind my breast and a cool sweat broke out along my collarbone.
